------------------------------------------------------------------- DAWN WIRE SERVICE ------------------------------------------------------------------- Week Ending : 21 July 2001 Issue : 07/29 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Contents | National News | Business & Economy | Editorials & Features | Sports
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CONTENTS ===================================================================
NATIONAL NEWS + Security at all costs, says President + Officials may meet on Aug 6 + New Delhi rejects Islamabad's stance + India asked to fulfil summit pledges + Vajpayee to continue talks with Musharraf + Pakistan, India pledge to continue talks + CE convenes NSC, cabinet meeting + Summit's failure was expected: politicians + Mujahideen want role in talks + No Indian POWs in Pakistan, says govt + Search begins for Indian POWs + HRCP chief denies comment + Summit fails, Musharraf back home + Minister climbs down on Kashmir omission + Kashmir central to amity with India + Musharraf meets APHC leaders, pledges support + Sonia Gandhi meets Musharraf + Advani suggests extradition treaty + Narayanan, Musharraf promise better relations + President gets warm welcome + Indian army denies troops pullout + Pakistan rejects charges levelled in US report + Benazir blames Musharraf for not signing declaration + Power struggle in Muslim Conference subsides + Troops trade fire along LoC + LG Ord to go before cabinet next week + Pakistan to protect gas pipeline + Delhi seeks assurance on gas supply + Fresh guidelines on ECL issued + President says polls will be held in 2002 + 20 Sherpao plans return before 2002 polls + Nawab Marri released on bail + Mansur's remand extended for 15 days + Fatyana jailed for 3 years, fined Rs3m + Quake hits Islamabad, New Delhi --------------------------------- BUSINESS & ECONOMY + WB asks govt to speed up WAPDA's corporatization + PTCL to launch modernization plan + Australia offers to invest $1 bn + Turkish court stops encashing of $70m bank guarantee + NBP's 10pc shares offloading plan okayed + PIA seeks Rs6bn short-term loan + Renewed selling forces index to shed 23.22 points --------------------------------------- EDITORIALS & FEATURES + What more could we have asked for? Ayaz Amir + A job to do - beyond 2002 Kunwar Idris ----------- SPORTS + Sohail defies Australians + Pakistanis for world meet

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NATIONAL NEWS
20010721
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Security at all costs, says President
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Staff Reporter

TAXILA, July 20: President Gen Pervez Musharraf has said Pakistan
is a peace-loving country and has always worked for tranquillity
and stability in the region, but it cannot be done at the cost of
security. "We cannot lower our guard and must have the desired
deterrence against misadventures by the enemies," he added.

He was speaking at the handing over of the first batch of 15 Al-
Khalid main battle tanks, developed indigenously over a period of
eight years at an estimated cost of $20 million, to 31 Cavalry of
Armoured Corps at Heavy Industries Taxila.

President Musharraf said his government would provide all resources
to ensure a strong defence for a stable Pakistan. He said Pakistan
being a developing country, would have to find cost-effective
solutions and to promote indigenous capability, in the manufacture
of arms to meet defence needs.

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20010721
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Officials may meet on Aug 6
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COLOMBO, July 20: India and Pakistan are likely to meet in Colombo
on the sideline of a regional meeting in early August, Sri Lankan
foreign ministry officials and diplomats said.

The officials said foreign secretaries of India and Pakistan,
Chokila Iyer and Inamul Haq, are expected to have a separate
meeting on the sidelines of the regional meeting. The officials
didn't elaborate on what Iyer and Haq plan to discuss.

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20010721
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New Delhi rejects Islamabad's stance
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NEW DELHI, July 20: India shot back at Pakistan, rejecting charges
that New Delhi had gone back on assurances on future peace
negotiations reached during the Agra summit.

"No Agreement was reached. There was no closure of an agreement and
no subscription by signature," an Indian foreign ministry
spokeswoman was quoted by the Press Trust of India as saying.

"So, we have to start again on the basis of existing agreements -
Shimla Agreement and Lahore Declaration -which form the
cornerstones of relations between India and Pakistan," she added.

The Shimla Agreement, signed in 1972, called for bilateral
settlement of all disputes, while the February 1999 Lahore
Declaration called for a negotiated settlement of all issues,
including Kashmir.-AFP

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20010720
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India asked to fulfil summit pledges
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ISLAMABAD, July 19: Pakistan accused India of apparently backing
away from understandings reached at their collapsed summit at Agra
in India and insisted the two nuclear rivals must build on vows
made at the talks.

The charge came a day after India said any future accords with
Pakistan would have to be based on earlier pacts, and not a failed
draft agreement worked out at the July 15-16 summit between
President Pervez Musharraf and Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari
Vajpayee.

"The statement of the spokesperson for the Indian Ministry of
External Affairs on July 18 appears to disavow the understandings
reached between the two leaders during the Agra summit," a Pakistan
Foreign Ministry statement said. It also said Rao's remarks
contradicted the line taken by Indian Foreign Minister Jaswant
Singh, who, at his post-summit press conference said "we will pick
up the threads from the visit of the president of Pakistan."

Pakistan Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar also expressed a "similar
resolve" at a press conference here the same day, the statement
added.

The statement said the two sides failed to reach an agreement on
the full text of a promised joint declaration because of
"differences on one of its paragraphs". Nevertheless, in the course
of the talks, the two leaders reached several understandings which
signify a substantial forward step in our bilateral relations.

It said Pakistan believed "these understandings should be preserved
and expanded in the interest of peace, security and development"
and added: We hope the government of India will join us in the
effort to build on the foundation of these understandings.

"Pakistan-India relations are governed by the United Nations
charter, international law and obligations arising from the
multilateral and bilateral agreements to which the countries are
parties. Pakistan adheres to all of them," it said.

OLD PACTS: Indian External Affairs Ministry spokeswoman Nirupama
Rao said it was "disappointing that no closure was reached on the
text of the agreement" at Agra.

"We will therefore have to begin on the basis of the existing
agreements, that is the Shimla Agreement and the Lahore Declaration
which are the cornerstones of India-Pakistan bilateral relations,"
he told reporters in New Delhi.

The 1972 Shimla Agreement envisages the bilateral settlement of all
disputes, while the 1999 Lahore Declaration was an agreement to
resolve a wide range of issues from the bitter dispute over the
Himalayan region of Kashmir to nuclear arms and bilateral trade.-
Reuters/AFP

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20010718
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Vajpayee to continue talks with Musharraf
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Staff Correspondent

AGRA, July 17: Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee is all set to
continue his dialogue with President Pervez Musharraf, summit or no
summit, a source, close to the prime minister, told Dawn.

"The prime minister has struck a good rapport with Musharraf and
they will continue to do business together for a long time to
come," the source said.

There is a view gaining ground among the media that if Musharraf
succeeds in keeping his word on the question of POWs that Vajpayee
had raised with him and manages to trace and produce some, if not
all of the 54 India says Pakistan is holding, the Pakistan
president will strengthen Vajpayee's hand in parliament.

The Congress party has already distanced itself from Vajpayee's
intiative.

Informed sources said Vajpayee was looking forward to an Agra
Declaration, which would have allowed the issues of terrorism and
Kashmir to be upgraded for a political dialogue, making a
discussion on two most contentious issues acceptable to both sides.
Along with these two, a third proposal to reserve CBMs on
conventional and nuclear capabilities for a political slot was to
be a key part of the declaration.

The sources said the declaration was almost approved for signing
before the hardliners took over closer to the evening hours.

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20010718
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Pakistan, India pledge to continue talks
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By Hasan Akhtar & Jawed Naqvi

ISLAMABAD/AGRA, July 17: India and Pakistan reaffirmed to continue
the dialogue, initiated in Agra, but conceded that the two-day
summit meeting between President Pervez Musharraf and Prime
Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee held ended inconclusively.

Pakistan's Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar told reporters on his
return to Islamabad that the "common ground" covered by Musharraf
and Vajpayee could be used to continue the dialogue.

His Indian counterpart Jaswant Singh in Agra told reporters that
while the summit ended disappointingly there was no need to be
disheartened.

Singh maintained that the summit was not a failure despite the
deadlock on some issues, but rather "yet another step in our march
towards finding amity, peace and better relations with Pakistan."

Sattar said: "Valuable progress was made at Agra on evolving a
structure for a sustained dialogue that would take up Jammu and
Kashmir, peace and security, terrorism and drug trafficking at the
political level."

He said the process of reconciling the differences lingering for 53
years "need not be protracted. It depends upon the sense of realism
purposefulness (of negotiators)".

Singh said India had recognized the need to address the Kashmir
issue ever since 1971 when the Shimla agreement was signed between
the two countries.

Abdul Sattar said the Agra summit had paved the way for future
dialogue. He said the summit had ended inconclusively, but could
not be termed failure as considerable progress was made.

The foreign minister said President Musharraf and Prime Minister
Vajpayee shared a common vision of peace, progress and prosperity
for their peoples in the 21st century. "Cognizant of the benefits
or peace and cooperation between the two neighbouring countries,
President Musharraf and Prime Minister Vajpayee held wide-ranging
discussions on Pakistan-India relations, particularly on Jammu and
Kashmir," the foreign minister said.

The minister said the leaders affirmed commitment to addressing
each other's expressed concerns creating an environment "conducive
to the establishment of peaceful, friendly and cooperative ties for
the welfare of the two peoples."

He recalled that Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee had accepted the
President Musharraf's invitation for a return visit at a mutually
convenient date and said the two leaders were expected to meet in
New York in September and continue efforts to promote agreement
between the two sides.

He said time did not permit substantive discussion on any specific
issue. But valuable progress was made at Agra on evolving a
structure for a sustained dialogue process that would take up Jammu
and Kashmir, peace and security, and terrorism and drug trafficking
at the political level. Economic and commercial cooperation,
Siachen, Wullar Barrage, Sir Creek and promotion of friendly
exchanges in various levels would be addressed at the level of high
officials.

All these issues needed to be addressed purposefully,
constructively and in an integrated manner, with a sense of
urgency, Sattar observed, and recalled that responding to press
questions in Agra, the president was forthcoming on discussion of
any issues of concern to India. The president had emphasized again
and again that realism required a focus, and that progress on
settlement of Jammu and Kashmir would be conducive to normalization
of bilateral relations.

The foreign minister referred to the president's meeting with the
leaders of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference and said Pakistan
hoped India would accord the APHC leadership travel documents to
visit Pakistan for consultations for which Islamabad's invitation
had already been outstanding for the last several months.

To a question, Sattar said it should be best known to the Indian
ministry of external affairs why Pakistan's request at Agra for a
press conference by the president before his departure back home,
remained unmet when the talks prolonged beyond the initially
indicated time of about midday.

He said while the Indian prime minister had already been invited by
the president to visit Pakistan, the foreign minister too had
extended a separate invitation to his Indian counterpart Mr Jaswant
Singh to come to Islamabad at an early opportunity.

Replying to another question, Sattar said terrorism and drug
trafficking had been included as the topics for the dialogue
between the two countries in the proposed draft declaration, which
he said, had been aborted at the last minute, by whom and why he
was unable to say. He clarified that trade relations had not been
discussed at the summit.

The foreign minister said he believed that if the two sides were
not constrained because of the paucity of the time it might have
been possible to finalize the draft declaration by sorting out the
residual issues concerning some points and concepts. He hoped that
it would be possible to overcome that in next meeting between the
two sides.

Jawed Naqvi adds from Agra: India on Tuesday blamed Pakistan's
obsession with Kashmir as a key factor hindering closer bilateral
ties but said the Agra summit between Prime Minister Atal Behari
Vajpayee and President Pervez Musharraf which ended on Monday
without as much as a joint statement being produced was not quite a
failure. "We are, of course, disappointed that the two sides could
not arrive at an agreed text," India's Minister of Defence and
External Affairs Jaswant Singh told a news conference a day after
the summit caved in under a suspected hard-liners' assault from
India.

"It will not be a breach of confidentiality to clarify that this
was on an account of the difficulty of reconciling our basic
approaches to bilateral relations. India is convinced that narrow,
segmented or unifocal approaches will simply not work. Our focus
has to remain on the totality of the relationship," Singh declared.

He said India would persist with its endeavour to build trust and
confidence, and a mutually beneficial relationship even as both
sides address and move forward on all outstanding issues, including
Jammu and Kashmir, building upon the existing compacts of Simla and
Lahore.

Singh, hitherto a Vajpayee prot�g�, has emerged as a front-runner
for his mentor's job for which, when the occasion arises, he will
inevitably need the complete support of hardcore Hindu
nationalists. As a result, analysts say, Singh's body language has
undergone a change, exuding a more hawkish visage than he was so
far accustomed to projecting.

He is also credited with drafting the more eloquent of Indian
communiqu�s, including the one here.

"In keeping with his abiding vision of good neighbourly relations
between India and Pakistan, the prime minister had invited
President Musharraf to walk the high road of peace and
reconciliation. Our commitment to that noble objective, upon the
attainment of which rests the welfare of many, is not transitory,"
Singh said. "It is that commitment that was demonstrated at Shimla
and Lahore and recently during President Musharraf's visit."

He said significant confidence building measures that were
announced prior to President Musharraf's visit would be fully
implemented by India.

Singh said the summit negotiations for an agreed text of document
were seriously pursued. "There were long hours of discussions at
official and political levels. During these negotiations India did
not shy away from any issue. In keeping with the confidentiality,
which is necessary for these negotiations and maintenance of which
is necessary for the future bilateral relations themselves, it
would not be proper to go into details."

Obliquely accusing General Musharraf of seeking unfair media
advantage in Agra, as opposed to Vajpayee's deafening silence,
Singh said: "It needs assertion that, during the negotiating
process, India fully respected all established international norms.
As a responsible and mature democracy, we negotiate to improve
bilateral relations with our neighbours, not to indulge in public
relations."

Singh said the invitation by Musharraf to Vajpayee stands as
accepted regardless of the Agra summit's disappointing outcome.

Text of Sattar's statement

ISLAMABAD, July 17: The following is the text of statement issued
by Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar here on Tuesday, a day after the
summit between Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and
Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf.

President Pervez Musharraf has returned from India optimistic about
prospects for better relations between Pakistan and India.
Considerable progress was made in summit level discussions and in
evolving the text of a declaration.

It is unfortunate that the expected consummation did not
materialise. Nevertheless, the president remains convinced that the
existing goodwill on both sides can and will achieve mutually
desired results.

President Musharraf and Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee share a
common vision of peace, progress and prosperity for their peoples
in the 21st century. The president has complimented the Indian
Prime Minister for the gracious initiative to invite him for the
resumption of dialogue between the two countries after a hiatus of
nearly two years.

Recognising the benefits of peace and cooperation between the two
neighbouring countries, President Musharraf and Prime Minister
Vajpayee held wide-ranging discussions on Pakistan-India relations,
particularly on Jammu and Kashmir.

They affirmed commitment to addressing each other's expressed
concerns, creating an environment conducive to the establishment of
peaceful, friendly and cooperative ties, for the welfare of the two
peoples.

While in New Delhi, President Musharraf welcomed the opportunity to
meet with the leaders of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference. We
hope India would accord them travel documents to visit Pakistan for
consultations.

Time did not permit substantive discussion on any specific issue.
But valuable progress was made at Agra on evolving a structure for
a sustained dialogue process, that would take up Jammu and Kashmir,
peace and security, and terrorism and drug trafficking at the
political level.

Economic and commercial cooperation, Siachin, Wuller Barrage, Sir
Creek and promotion of friendly exchanges in various levels would
be addressed at the level of high officials.

All these issues need to be addressed purposefully, constructively
and in an integrated manner, with a sense of urgency.

Responding to press questions, the President of Pakistan was
forthcoming on discussion of any issues of concern to India. He
emphasised again and again that realism requires a focus, and that
progress on settlement of Jammu and Kashmir would be conducive to
normalisation of bilateral relations.

Prime Minister Vajpayee has accepted our president's invitation for
a return visit. The two leaders are expected to meet in New York in
September and continue efforts to promote agreement. The goodwill
between them is an asset for better relations between the two
countries.

President Musharraf had a valuable opportunity to meet a large
number of prominent Indian leaders. His exchanges of views with
intellectuals and media luminaries will no doubt contribute to
better mutual understanding.

Enlightened opinion in India is no less keen than that in Pakistan
to extricate bilateral relations from the time wrap in which they
have been trapped for 54 years.

Like the Indian Prime Minster, the Minster for External affairs, Mr
Jaswant Singh brought equal goodwill to the task of translating the
convergence of thoughts at the summit level into words.

The two sides came very close to bringing the declaration close to
adoption and approval. In fact twice yesterday it appeared we had
succeeded in arriving at a mutually acceptable formulation. It is
unfortunate that the fruition of the exercise was aborted.

The Agra Summit remained inconclusive but it did not fail. In fact,
the two leaders succeeded in covering a broad area of common ground
in the draft declaration. That will provide a valuable foundation
for the two leaders to reach full agreement at their next meeting.

Compliments are due also to intellectuals, media and the common
people in India as in Pakistan for their contribution to building
an environment of opinion conducive to forward movement. Heartened
by the prevalent goodwill, President Musharraf believes popular
support will be an asset also to leaders in India who want to work
for a future better than the past."-Reuters

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20010718
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CE convenes NSC, cabinet meeting
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Staff Reporter

ISLAMABAD, July 17: President Gen Pervez Musharraf has convened a
joint meeting of the cabinet and the National Security Council to
take them into confidence over his dialogue with Indian Prime
Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee.

The president would also meet people from various sections of
society, Information Secretary Anwer Mehmood told Dawn.

All those who had been invited for consultation before the summit,
would again be called and apprised of the Agra talks. However,
dates for these meetings had not yet been finalized, he added.

The president would also hold a press conference, Mr Mehmood said.

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20010718
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Summit's failure was expected: politicians
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ISLAMABAD, July 17: Politicians, critical of President Musharraf,
said the failure of the India-Pakistan summit had been expected.

"I am not surprised at the failure of talks," said veteran
politician, Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan, leader 14 Alliance for
Restoration of Democracy (ARD).

"During 50 years of Pakistan-India history the 50 or so rounds of
talks between the two at various levels have always failed to
resolve the Kashmir issue. This result does not come as a
surprise," he told Reuters.

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20010718
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Mujahideen want role in talks
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SRINAGAR, July 17: Mujahideen leaders renewed demands to be
included in negotiations on the future of Kashmir following the
collapse of the Agra summit.

President Pervez Musharraf won praise from groups in occupied
Kashmir for his tough talk during the two days of talks with Indian
Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee.

Abdul Gani Bhat, chairman of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference
(APHC), said the summit was sabotaged by "hawks" surrounding the
Indian prime minister.

"We were not expecting that the two leaders would resolve all
bilateral issues in one go," he said. "The solution has to be found
through negotiations involving Kashmiris."-AFP

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20010720
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No Indian POWs in Pakistan, says govt
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Staff Reporter

ISLAMABAD, July 19: The interior ministry said that it had
thoroughly combed all the prisons in the country but found no
Indian prisoner of war there. However, according to an interior
ministry spokesman, there were 135 Indian nationals in various
jails who were mostly involved in illegal border crossing cases.

Out of these prisoners, 70 have already been cleared for
deportation but there cases were under process at the Indian High
Commission.

Most of these prisoners had no travel documents, the spokesman
said, adding that they would be deported as soon as documents were
handed over to them and other arrangements were made by the high
commission.

When asked where those Indians had been arrested, the spokesman
said border crossing was not confined to any particular area.

The fishermen arrested in the coastal areas of Karachi and
Balochistan would not be deported by sea in view of the whether
conditions, he said.

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20010717
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Search begins for Indian POWs
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Staff Reporter

ISLAMABAD, July 16: The Ministry of Interior has once again started
combing all prisons of the country to trace 54 Indian prisoners of
war New Delhi claims to be missing since 1971 war, Dawn reliably
learnt.

"We have already checked twice with all the jails but found no clue
of any Indian POW as claimed by the Indian authorities," a
spokesman for the interior ministry told Dawn.

The Indian officials have been claiming that there are 54 POWs
still languishing in Pakistani jails.

Pakistan has refuted the Indian claim on a number of occasions, but
the issue was once again raised at a breakfast meeting of President
Gen Pervez Musharraf with editors and leading journalists of Indian
media in Agra.

President Musharraf held out an assurance to the parents of missing
soldiers to personally look into the matter. Reuters

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20010721
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HRCP chief denies comment
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LAHORE, July 20: The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has
rejected as untrue the report carried by an Indian newspaper,
Pioneer, that the HRCP had confirmed the presence of 35 Indian PoWs
in Pakistan.

I.A. Rehman, director of the HRCP, has denied giving such
information or even such impression to anyone.

An HRCP press release issued on Friday said: In view of the
misunderstandings likely to be caused by this instance of incorrect
reporting, the HRCP wishes to put the record straight. Over the
past two years or so, several Indians approached HRCP for help in
inquiries about members of their families who, they believed, had
been taken prisoners of war in 1971 or were so treated after
straying into Pakistan.

The HRCP duly communicated these pleas to the authorities concerned
as it had no means of its own to check on facts. The correspondents
were told that the government of Pakistan denied holding any Indian
PoWs. A few petitions were received from some Pakistanis who
claimed that their relations were being held as PoWs in India.
These were referred to the Indian authorities. Apart from adding
its plea for proper disposal of such petitions, the HRCP cannot
play any role.

The HRCP welcomes the commitment made by Pakistan at the highest
level to once again probe the matter because it is fully sensitive
to the feelings of families who somehow believe that their dear
ones have been separated from them under circumstances that make no
sense to anyone.

Since what matters most is the satisfaction of the families
concerned, government disclaimers may not be enough. The HRCP,
therefore, calls upon the governments of India and Pakistan to
consider the possibilities of creating a joint tribunal comprising
high judicial and military authorities to conduct on both sides
whatever probes are necessary.

For the HRCP, removal of citizens' grievances against the
neighbouring state is one of the important confidence-building
measures needed to achieve good relations between India and
Pakistan.

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20010717
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Summit fails, Musharraf back home
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By Jawed Naqvi

AGRA, July 16: Pakistan and India broke off their three-day summit
meeting agreeing that the high road to peace they set out to walk
together was paved with deep mistrust they mistook for good
intentions.

The tone of the summit was one-sided from the very beginning in
which President Pervez Musharraf did most of the talking to the
media against Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's deafening
silence.

In the end the Indian side was so fed up with the mismatch that
according to some news reports they decided to send off the guest
without granting him his favourite indulgence, a pre-departure
press conference. There was no joint statement, much less an Agra
Declaration everyone was given to understand was being licked into
shape.

Before leaving Agra for home, Musharraf paid a courtesy call to
Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee.

"We are going back disappointed but there is always hope," Pakistan
government spokesman Anwar Mahmood told reporters. Mahmood also
recalled that Vajpayee had accepted an invitation on Sunday to
visit Pakistan later in the year.

"We hope the process of dialogue will continue," he said, while
pointing the finger of blame at India for the breakdown in talks on
the final declaration.

A senior Pakistan official told newsmen that the negotiations had
become deadlocked over "the centrality" accorded to the Kashmir
dispute in the declaration document. - APP

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20010717
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Minister climbs down on Kashmir omission
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AGRA, July 16: An Indian minister whose remarks triggered anger at
a summit with Pakistan, said there was no ulterior motive behind
her failure to mention that the Kashmir dispute had been discussed
between the bitter foes.

Indian Information and Broadcasting Minister Sushma Swaraj said
that talks between Prime Minister Vajpayee and President Pervez
Musharraf had touched on four areas - but omitted to mention the
key dispute over Kashmir.

Her comments provoked a statement from the Pakistan team
criticizing her, and insisting that the Kashmir had been the main
issue discussed in the talks.

"I did not omit Kashmir deliberately ... Kashmir is an issue on
which talks are going on," Swaraj told reporters in Agra in what
was seen as an attempt to play down an issue that briefly
threatened to derail efforts by the two countries to end more than
50 years of animosity.

She said she referred to the other issues to show that the talks
was progressing in a positive direction.

"I don't see any reason why they should be upset over it," Swaraj
added.-Reuters

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20010717
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Kashmir central to amity with India
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Staff Correspondent

AGRA, July 16: President Pervez Musharraf said that the Kashmir
dispute remained central to ending years of enmity with India. "Let
us not remain under any illusion that the main issue confronting us
is Kashmir," he told Indian newspaper editors and TV anchor persons
over breakfast here. "That is the reality on the ground, whether we
like it or not," he said.

Indian journalists also expressed their support for President
Pervez Musharraf's plea to acknowledge his country's standoff over
Kashmir as a dispute or at least a key issue with Delhi.

"If India expects that I should ignore Kashmir, I better buy back
the Neharwali Haveli and stay there," he told the editors bluntly
and with dramatic effect, the wry humour now a bit of a Musharraf
hallmark. The result was music to the General's ears.

The president said people in Pakistan did not trust the Indian
government because they suspected that there was a design behind
New Delhi's refusal to accept Kashmir as the core issue. "The
suspicion is that India diverts us to other issues," he said.

Musharraf said if India was allergic to calling Kashmir a dispute,
he would not mind it being described as an "issue". Upset by the
remarks of Information and Broadcasting Minister Sushma Swaraj, the
President said he saw her talking on television on everything -
trade, cross-border terrorism, nuclear issues and POWs - but "not a
word on Kashmir although the most part of my discussions with the
Prime Minister was spent on Kashmir".

Clearly unimpressed by the confidence-building measures announced
by India, the General said: "What confidence building measures? The
biggest confidence building measure is Kashmir."

Musharraf said "certain things have to be ironed out" before the
end of his discussions with Vajpayee.

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20010715
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Musharraf meets APHC leaders, pledges support
-------------------------------------------------------------------
By Javed Naqvi

NEW DELHI, July 14: President Gen Pervez Musharraf promised
Pakistan's continued moral and political support to Kashmiri
freedom fighters during a 25-minute closed-door meeting with
Hurriyet leaders here.

"The general sahib has promised to continue moral and political
support to the Kashmiris until the resolution of the Kashmir
dispute," All Parties Hurriyat Conference chairman Abdul Gani Bhat
said later.

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20010715
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Sonia Gandhi meets Musharraf
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Monitoring desk

NEW DELHI, July 14: Congress President Sonia Gandhi met President
Pervez Musharraf and urged that there should be "flexibility and
open mind" on both sides.

Musharraf also said that rigidity on either side would not help in
improving India-Pakistan relations, adding that he looked forward
to resumption of a constructive dialogue between India and
Pakistan, and urging that both sides must take into account each
other's compulsions.

President Musharraf, who has been sticking on Kashmir as the "core"
issue, said it could not be relegated to second position.

The Congress chief in her 25-minute "very cordial" meeting told the
visiting dignitary that Simla Accord and Lahore Declaration should
be the basis of the bilateral dialogue, said Anand Sharma, the
party spokesman.

Both sides also referred to the nuclear issue and also underscored
the need for peace for the welfare of people of the two countries.

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20010715
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Advani suggests extradition treaty
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Monitoring desk

NEW DELHI, July 14: Home Minister L K Advani is understood to have
suggested to President Pervez Musharraf signing of an extradition
treaty besides asserting that peace should not be held hostage to
resolution of any single issue, regardless of its importance for
either side.

Advani, during his 25-minute meeting with Musharraf, also raised
the issue of cross-border terrorism saying innocent people should
not be made victims of terrorism simply because of differences
between Islamabad and New Delhi.

The suggestion for an extradition treaty came up in the context of
activities of criminals involved in kidnapping, murders and
extortion�s who slipped into each other's countries taking
advantage of the strained bilateral relations.

According to sources, Advani is understood to have said that if
India can have such a treaty with Turkey, Germany and several other
nations which were not being used as safe havens by criminals, in
the case of Pakistan it was a reality and therefore signing of an
extradition treaty was imperative.

The sources said Musharraf responded to Advani's plea for
extradition treaty saying "Yes, why not?"

"We should not say that 'jehad' will continue till a particular
issue is resolved," Advani reportedly told Musharraf.

The Home Minister is also understood to have said that the Kashmir
state did not consist of the Valley alone. It included Azad
Kashmir, Northern Areas and those ceded by Pakistan to China,
besides Ladakh and Jammu regions.

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20010715
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Narayanan, Musharraf promise better relations
-------------------------------------------------------------------
By M. Ziauddin

NEW DELHI, July 14: The President of Pakistan Gen Pervez Musharraf
and his Indian counterpart KR Narayanan set the tone for the two-
day Agra summit by recalling the wishes of their respective
founding fathers who had wanted the two countries to live in peace
and harmony.

The two leaders were speaking at the banquet hosted by the India
president for his Pakistani counterpart. President Musharraf
rounded off his response to president Narayanan's warm sentiments
which he had expressed in his welcome speech by quoting from Quaid-
I-Azam's August 7, 1947 speech in which the father of the Pakistani
nation had said: "The past must be buried and let us start afresh
as two independent sovereign states of Hindustan and Pakistan. I
wish Hindustan prosperity and peace."

Pervez Musharraf urged upon India to join him "in this noble
endeavour, let us begin this effort now, let us today embark upon
this challenging and rewarding task, let us join hands in building
a better future for our succeeding generations."

President Narayanan, earlier in his speech had quoted from Pandit
Jawaharlal Nehru's book "The Discovery of India" (1945-46) in which
he had said: "It is obvious that whatever be the future of India,
even if there is regular partition, the different parts of India,
will have to co-operate with each other, in a hundred different
ways."

The Pakistani president admitted that the legacy of the past years
was not a happy one, "Our two countries have been through wars,
blood has been spilled; precious lives have been lost, we have been
locked in mutual suspicion and hostility, we have paid a heavy
price for it and we owe it to our future generations to do our
utmost to open a new chapter of goodwill and cooperation.

Referring to the Kashmir issue, the Pakistani president said that
Jammu and Kashmir dispute continued to block progress towards
normalization of relations between the two countries and "I believe
that there can be no military solution of this dispute, we must be
bold enough to face this issue squarely and resolve it once and for
all."

"This, indeed, will open a new chapter of fruitful relations
between our two countries and also put an end to the sufferings of
the people of Kashmir," he added.

He said that he was deeply committed to finding a path towards
normal relations between India and Pakistan. "I would like
communications to open, trade to flourish, mindsets to change and
stereotypes to disappear."

"The children of India and Pakistan must not be made to live under
the constant shadow of conflict, they must also not be made to live
in deprivation and crippling poverty, the energies of our people
must be diverted to the immense and challenging task of social and
economic uplift of banishing misery and ushering in an era of
progress and prosperity," he said.

He told President Musharraf that the city of Agra where he would be
parleying with the Indian prime minister from tomorrow "is the city
of love as well as the city of reconciliation. "I believe that the
dialogue between India and Pakistan that we have initiated will
evolve into a structured dialogue at the summit as well as other
levels which will lead to the removal of all obstacles and
misunderstandings that stand in our way and pave the way to the
solutions of problems and the creation of enduring friendship
between our two nations."

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20010715
-------------------------------------------------------------------
President gets warm welcome
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Staff Correspondent

NEW DELHI, July 14: President Gen Pervez Musharraf arrived by a
chartered PIA Boeing 737-700 plane. The CE was received at the
Palam technical area among others by the minister of state for
railways, Digvijay Singh, and Ashraf Jehangir Qazi.

Gen Musharraf waved and greeted mediamen before the presidential
motorcade comprising over 40 limousines, proceeded to Rashtrapati
Bhawan, where he was accorded a ceremonial welcome.

As President Musharraf alighted from the presidential limousine
accompanied by Begum Sehba Musharraf, he was received by President
K.R. Narayanan and First Lady Usha Narayanana. He was then greeted
by Prime Minister Vajpayee.

The Pakistan President was escorted to the saluting dais by the
chief of protocol, Manvir Singh, as the national anthems of the two
countries were played by the military band. He then inspected the
inter-services Guard of Honour.

It is believed that the last time a Pakistan leader was given a
ceremonial welcome at Rashtrapati Bhawan was in 1953 to the then
prime minister, Mohammad Ali Bogra.

Text of president's statement

NEW DELHI, July 14: The following is the text of statement by
President Gen Pervez Musharraf on his arrival here:

On my arrival in India at the kind invitation of Prime Minister
Atal Behari Vajpayee, I would like to extend warm greetings to the
government and people of India on my personal behalf and on behalf
of the people of Pakistan. I have come with an open mind and look
forward to my discussions with Indian leaders on establishing
peaceful, tension-free and co-operative relations between our two
countries.

For the sake of economic prosperity and peaceful co-existence,
Pakistan and India need to maintain dialogue to resolve disputes
and to explore opportunities for improving bilateral relations. I
am glad this dialogue has now been resumed.

For more than half a century, the Kashmir dispute has cast a shadow
on relations between Pakistan and India. In my talks with the
Indian leaders, I will be looking forward to a meaningful, frank
and substantial discussion urging them to join hands with us in
resolving this dispute in accordance with the wishes of the
Kashmiri people. This will facilitate resolution of other issues
and lead to a full normalisation of relations.

I am hopeful that my talks with Prime Minister Vajpayee will pave
the way for better relations between Pakistan and India."-Reuters

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20010716
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Indian army denies troops pullout
-------------------------------------------------------------------
SRINAGAR, July 15: The Indian army stationed in occupied Kashmir
denied reports that it was planning to pull out 20,000 troops from
the disputed state along the border with Pakistan.

"We have not received any such orders from our high command in New
Delhi," Colonel S.P.K. Singh, spokesman for the Indian army's
northern command, told AFP by telephone from his headquarters in
Udhampur.

"We are not aware of any such move," Singh said. "There has been no
withdrawal of troops from Jammu region as suggested by the media.
Such a big pull-out will not go unnoticed," he added.-AFP

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20010715
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Pakistan rejects charges levelled in US report
-------------------------------------------------------------------
ISLAMABAD, July 14: Pakistan rejected the "unsubstantiated
allegations" leveled against it in a US report on "Trafficking in
Persons". "We reject the allegations in the US State Department
report and the insinuation implicit in its categorization," said a
statement by the Foreign Office spokesman here.

The observations on Pakistan were made in the US State Department
report on "Trafficking in Persons" released on July 12 which
represented unsubstantiated allegations.

"Instead of unwarranted criticism, we would welcome and join
international efforts and cooperation for addressing this problem,"
said the FO statement.

On its part, "Pakistan will continue to make every effort to combat
crimes like trafficking of persons in all earnestness".

It said the report arbitrarily and unfairly listed Pakistan among
countries whose governments are allegedly not making significant
efforts to address human trafficking. "It completely ignores the
efforts made by the Government of Pakistan to combat the crime of
trafficking in persons, which is an international bane and afflicts
seriously the United States itself".

"The Government and civil society in Pakistan have been sensitive
to the problem and have taken steps to stop smuggling of children
for camel races which is one of the allegations contained in the
report."

The Pakistan media has regularly carried programs to create public
consciousness against this crime. "Similarly, there have been
sustained efforts on the part of law-enforcement agencies to help
repatriate smuggled persons, particularly women, to their countries
of origin."

As part of its commitment to promote and protect human rights, the
Government of Pakistan has recently decided to sign the Optional
Protocol on the "Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child
Pornography", which was adopted last year by the UN.

"We are party to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child,
while the United States, the author of the report, is one of the
two countries in the world which have yet to ratify the
Convention.-APP

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20010720
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Benazir blames Musharraf for not signing declaration
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Monitoring Desk
LONDON, July 19: Stating that declarations were difficult for
Generals, former prime minister Benazir Bhutto put the blame
squarely on President General Pervez Musharraf for his failure to
sign a joint declaration with India during the Agra summit.

"It was startling to witness his puerile brinkmanship where the
Indians called the bluff," the Pakistan People's Party co-
chairperson said, adding the "summit did prove that whilst
politicians come up with agreements, declarations are difficult for
Generals," PTI reported on Internet quoting a statement from the
PPP leader.

Commenting on the summit, Bhutto  said in a statement that "time
was always running short - and then extended. Musharraf departed
when sources leaked that the talks would continue the next day."

She said the entire world was watching the 'Agra summit' and
expected a joint declaration but eventually "there wasn't even a
joint statement."

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20010716
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Power struggle in Muslim Conference subsides
-------------------------------------------------------------------
By Ahmed Hassan

ISLAMABAD, July 15: Azad Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference and
the PPP AJK chapter have allotted tickets to party nominees for the
elections on eight Legislative Assembly seats reserved for women,
ulema and mashaikh, overseas Kashmiris and technocrats, to be held
on July 20.

MC, after loosing Chaudhry Ismail's seat against PPP's Maqbool
Ahmed in re-polling on a polling station at Gujranwala, is left
with 21 seats and its rival party's tally has risen to 16.

Muslim Conference which has emerged as the majority party in the
house of 40 MLAs, in July 5 polls, is confident to win at least
five reserved seats.

The Sardars also have agreed not to field Sardar Atique for
premiership to keep the unity, insiders revealed. However, it will
become clear in the meeting whether Sardar Qayum himself becomes
the candidate for the chief executive's office or leaves it to his
political adversary, Sardar Sikandar Hayat Khan.-APP

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20010715
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Troops trade fire along LoC
-------------------------------------------------------------------
SRINAGAR, July 14: Indian and Pakistani troops traded machine-gun
fire across the Kashmir border as Pakistani President Pervez
Musharraf started a visit to India for a peace summit, a defence
spokesman said. The gunfire was reported from the Manjakote area of
the LoC.

"There were no casualties in the fresh firing," said the
spokesman.-AFP

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20010721
-------------------------------------------------------------------
LG Ord to go before cabinet next week
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Staff Reporter

LAHORE, July 20: The local government ordinance which will give
legal cover to the devolution plan and the district government
system is likely to be finalized and submitted to the Punjab
cabinet for approval during the next week.

Sources told Dawn that the draft ordinance was being checked, and
it was likely to be given a final shape during the next week,
making it possible to promulgate it during the first week of
August.

The government had earlier issued a separate ordinance to provide a
legal cover to district governments only to the extent of holding
their elections. This ordinance was prepared by the National
Reconstruction Bureau and was promulgated simultaneously by all the
provinces. But the new ordinance, also drafted by the NRB, would be
promulgated separately by them, the sources said.

They said this time the provinces had been allowed to make changes
in the ordinance to suit their local requirements. The final draft
of the ordinance did not clash with the  constitution as all the
objections raised earlier by the Punjab  had been removed, they
said.

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20010721
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Pakistan to protect gas pipeline
-------------------------------------------------------------------
ISLAMABAD, July 20: Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman Riaz Mohammad
Khan has said that security of proposed Indo-Iran gas pipeline is
no problem for Pakistan.

He said both countries also discussed the overland gas pipeline
project. President Musharraf said Pakistan already supports the
project and believes that it will strengthen economies in the
region.

Riaz Mohammad Khan said the total length of our main gas pipelines
is over 8,000 kilometres. He said that these pipelines are fully
protected and the pipeline between Iran and India will also be
protected. There is no such issue at all, he concluded.-PPI

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20010717
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Delhi seeks assurance on gas supply
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Monitoring Desk

Mumbai, July 16: Union Petroleum Minister Ram Naik said that he
expected a "positive" outcome of the summit meeting over proposed
Indo-Iran gas pipeline and that India should be ensured of safe and
uninterrupted supply of natural gas.

"I had submitted a detailed note regarding the Indo-Iran pipeline
to Vajpayee...I want to ensure the safety of the gas and also need
a guarantee that supply would be uniterrupted, if it would pass
through the soil of our neighbours till the Indian border", Naik
told reporters here.

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20010716
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Fresh guidelines on ECL issued
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Staff Reporter

KARACHI, July 15: The Federal Investigation Agency is learnt to
have devised fresh guidelines for streamlining matters related to
the Exit Control List.

Sources told Dawn that the field units of the agency had been given
specific directions to streamline the procedure for placement of
people on the ECL. They said the field units had been asked to make
timely requests for placement of names on the ECL giving
particulars of individuals, description of inquiry/case and its
present status.

The sources said the units had also been asked to give full
justification for restricting an individual from traveling abroad.
All information about the person to be placed on the ECL would be
required in the Performa prescribed by the Interior Division in
this regard, they said.

The sources said the FIA high-ups had noticed that the particulars
of a suspect, such as his full name, father's name, temporary and
permanent residential and business addresses, national identity
card and passport numbers and photograph were not being secured at
the time of arrest or even in the course of investigation.

They said all the investigation officers of the agency specifically
had been asked to secure the required information in the very
beginning of investigation or inquiry and place it on file for
subsequent use. Similarly, the sources said, the field units had
also been asked to furnish fully justified views without any delay
whenever a case pertaining to the deletion of a name was referred
to them.

They said complete views and options for or against "one-time
permission" to a person on the ECL to travel abroad were required
to be furnished without any delay.

The sources said the zonal directors would directly address their
communications to the director immigration at the FIA Headquarter
in Islamabad, and the field units of the Economic Crime Wing (ECW)
would send them to the director of ECW, who would immediately
address the director, immigration, giving him clear views/comments.

They said the director, immigration, would independently address
the communications to the Interior Division or other authorities,
as the case might be, on the basis of information received by him.

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20010717
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President says polls will be held in 2002
-------------------------------------------------------------------
AGRA, July 16: President Pervez Musharraf said that elections will
be held next year.

"I certainly intend to stick by that," he told a briefing a of
newspaper editors on the sidelines of the summit here. "I am going
to hold elections next year. A real democracy is now being
introduced in Pakistan by me."

"I was thrust into that position by my predecessor," he said. "For
the sake of Pakistan it was required ... maybe not me coming, but
him going, definitely."-Reuters

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20010721
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Sherpao plans return before 2002 polls
-------------------------------------------------------------------
By M. Ismail Khan

PESHAWAR, July 20: Former chief minister Aftab Sherpao, who lives
in self exile in London, has said that he is planning to stage a
comeback before the expected national elections due in October
2002.

"I am a politician and I have my career in politics. I cannot
afford to stay away from politics for too long," Mr Sherpao told a
group of Peshawar-based journalists at his Sussex Gardens flat in
central London recently.

Expressing satisfaction over the results of the local bodies
elections in the NWFP where, he claimed, his faction of the PPP had
done rather well, a beaming Sherpao said he was confident he had a
role to play in the political arena. "I want to go home and take
part in the coming general elections."

The two-time Frontier chief minister said the situation in Pakistan
had undergone a big change since the military takeover in October
1999. He admitted that the country was on its path towards
democracy but said the army would have a direct role in national
politics this time round.

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20010718
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Nawab Marri released on bail
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Staff Correspondent

QUETTA, July 17: Veteran Baloch leader Nawab Khair Buksh Marri was
released on bail from District Jail Quetta.

The judge of Special Court for Suppression of Terrorist Activities,
Mohammad Akbar Achakzai, granted bail to Nawab Marri on medical
ground in two remaining cases registered against him in Barkhan
area of Loralai district.

The court had already accepted bail on the same ground in three
other cases, including the murder case of Justice Nawaz Marri.

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20010720
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Mansur's remand extended for 15 days
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Staff Reporter

ISLAMABAD, July 19: An accountability court extended the remand of
the former naval chief, Admiral (retd) Mansurul Haq, for 15 days
for the fifth time despite strong opposition by the defence.

The former naval chief, who is facing charges of receiving
kickbacks and commission in a defence deal is now required to
appear again before the accountability court No 1 on August 3.

Abdul Baseer Qureshi, additional deputy prosecutor general
appearing before the court asked for extension of remand for
another 15 days.

The defence counsel, Altaf Hussain objected to the request stating
that his client was under the custody of National Accountability
Bureau (NAB), for the last 57 days, and as yet they had come up
with nothing to prove his client's guilt.

The counsel insisted that the investigations into the defence deals
was going on for the last 8 years and still prosecution needed more
time to probe into the case. The counsel also complained that they
had received no response on the plea-bargain application submitted
by the accused. The prosecution, said that they had nothing to do
with the application and it had to be decided by the chairman NAB.
"We are only concerned with the investigation which we are doing,"
he said.

Qureshi argued that the matter was highly sensitive as it involved
classified documents, besides a lot of new information had come to
light during the investigation. Therefore more time was sought to
complete the enquiry since details about defence deals, different
offshore companies and properties had to be collected.

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20010720
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Fatyana jailed for 3 years, fined Rs3m
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Staff Reporter

LAHORE, July 19: An accountability court convicted former Punjab
education minister Riaz Fatyana of illegal appointments in the
Education Department.

The court awarded him three years imprisonment and imposed a fine
of Rs3 million. Should the fine remain unpaid for 15 days the law
shall take its course as stipulated in Section 386 of the Criminal
Procedure Code for its recovery.

The former minister was accused of making illegal appointments in
the Faisalabad Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education and
the Punjab Textbook Board. The prosecution said 126 people were
employed illegally and that this caused a loss of Rs28.9 million to
the provincial exchequer.

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20010717
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Quake hits Islamabad, New Delhi
-------------------------------------------------------------------
ISLAMABAD, July 16 : The Islamabad region was hit by a
moderate/severe earthquake at 21:07 hours on Monday.

AFP adds: An earthquake of 5.3 magnitude on the Richter scale, with
its epicentre in Pakistan, rocked Kashmir and parts of northern
India, including New Delhi.

The tremor was felt at 9:37pm, according to officials.


BUSINESS & ECONOMY
20010715
-------------------------------------------------------------------
WB asks govt to speed up WAPDA's corporatization
-------------------------------------------------------------------
By Khaleeq Kiani

ISLAMABAD, July 14: The World Bank has asked the federal government
to accelerate WAPDA's corporatization process including transfer of
its staff, assets and liabilities to 12 corporate entities.

This has come following an update submitted by Private Electric
Power Company (PEPCO), the umbrella organisation and holding
company of 12 break-away generation and distribution companies,
last month, finance ministry sources told Dawn .

"A perusal of the report would indicate that the corporatization
program is being implemented rather slowly," said a working paper
commenting on the PEPCO report that listed some 14 steps required
to be done under Power Sector Restructuring Reforms program. The
program has a co-finance of around a billion dollar from various
donors led by the World Bank.

At present, 'property transfer agreements' are being drafted for
legal transfer of WAPDA properties, assets and liabilities to 12
separate entities. The actual transfer would, however, take place
after the provincial governments grant exemption from payment of
taxes/stamp duties, and the creditors give their consent to this
effect.

WAPDA and PEPCO are currently in the process to seek donor's
consent through the economic affairs division but this also
required completion of financial modeling and financial
restructuring of the corporatized entities finalized in
consultation with the World Bank.

The World Bank has said that the privatization of Gencos and Discos
was contingent upon the completion of three actions: First, GOP
policy guidelines on economic and social policy objectives, uniform
tariffs or otherwise, cross subsidies, cost and return of rural
electrification progra. Second, Completion of restructuring and
corporatization process and thirdly the completion of regulatory
framework.

The bank has been pointing out that modifications need to be made
in the way liabilities have been transferred from WAPDA to
corporate entities. Under the current transition arrangements, the
corporatized entities have been given a 70:30 debt equity ratio and
in addition to the loans directly allocated to the corporatized
entities, net worth has been transferred as a long term loan.

Currently, WAPDA has a debt to equity ratio of about 50:50. "This
distorts the financial position of the corporate entities and
results in additional cash flow needs for the corporate entities,
while the remaining WAPDA accumulates funds in access to its debt
service requirements."

The World Bank is of the view that the ongoing financial modeling
exercise should be helpful to analyze the implications and
formulate concrete recommendations for correcting this situation
for further government and management decisions. The same modeling
exercises should be used to firm up transfer prices and to design
measures for protecting the financial position of the weaker
Discos.

It suggested to accelerate financial modeling exercise for the
corporate entities and WAPDA to identify need for further financial
restructuring and other measures to protect the weaker Discos and
to determine transfer prices and new financial targets for each
corporate entity and WAPDA.

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20010721
-------------------------------------------------------------------
PTCL to launch modernization plan
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Staff Reporter

ISLAMABAD, July 20: Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited
(PTCL) has decided to further modernize its infrastructure
facilities and improve its services at a total cost of Rs 18
billion, chairman of the PTCL Akhtar Ahmad Bajwa told Dawn.

"The modernization program also includes the provision for
increasing the number of fixed telephones from the current 3.2
million to 3.6 million by the end of 2002," he added.

"The PTCL will shortly invite bids for developing state-of-the-art
billing and customer care services to be offered next year at a
cost of about 25 to 30 million dollars."

Mr Bajwa said that the main purpose was to offer more value added
services to customers. "In fact we are preparing ourselves for 2003
when the monopoly of the PTCL will end and we will have to face the
competition in the market", he said.

He pointed out that the new efficient billing system, which would
be installed next year, would cater to the multi-operation internal
billing of the company.

The focus of the plan, he pointed out, was to meet the requirements
of the corporate sector. When other companies are operational in
January 2003, corporations would not feel the need to switch over
from PTCL because its service would be upto the mark.

Mr Bajwa also said that while Pakistan's corporate sector was 20
per cent of PTCL's total clientele it provided 80 per cent of the
revenues. This sector needed broad data services which could not be
provided unless PTCL opted for the modernization program.

He further said necessary infrastructure will have to be built in
order to compete with new operators likely to come in 2003.

Responding to a question he said that inter-connect agreements will
be made with the private sector in order to provide them with new
services. He said that the modernization program also included
enhancing fibre capacity from Megawatt (MW) to Gigawatt(GW). "There
will be 100 per cent digitalisation of the lines by the end of this
year", Akhtar Bajwa said. The digitalisation of lines, he said,
will greatly improve the telephone service and people are being
trained for this.

When asked whether the new buyer of PTCL would want to retain the
current 50,000 workers once it was privatised, he said, "We are
trying to retain that workforce by upgrading their skills and
training them for various computer services." Nevertheless, he made
it clear that PTCL did not have any plans to remove its employees
from the jobs.

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20010717
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Australia offers to invest $1 bn
-------------------------------------------------------------------
By Khaleeq Kiani

ISLAMABAD, July 16: Australia has offered to invest $1 billion for
development and commercial exploitation of copper deposits near
Saindak in Balochistan.

Cabinet sources told Dawn that BHP, a petroleum and mineral
exploration company of Australia, "has shown interest in developing
Rekodek copper deposits near Saindak" in Chaghi district.

The Australian company had earlier done exploratory work in the
area, partly in consultation with the Balochistan government, the
sources said.

The sources said that foreign companies, mainly the Australian and
Chinese mining firms, were competing with each other in getting
hold of Balochistan's vast mineral deposits of copper, gold and
other precious metals.

The foreign direct investment in the mineral and quarrying sector
peaked at 26 per cent in 2000-01 as against 13.6 per cent in the
previous year.

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20010721
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Turkish court stops encashing of $70m bank guarantee
-------------------------------------------------------------------
By Rafaqat Ali

ISLAMABAD, July 20: Pakistan has not been successful in encashing
US$70 million bank guarantee extended by a consortium of Turkish
banks for the Islamabad-Peshawar motorway project, Dawn has learnt.

According to NHA sources dealing with the cancellation of Rs40
billion Islamabad-Peshawar Motorway project, Turkish contractor has
obtained a stay order from Turkish Commercial Court, ordering that
bank guarantee should not be encashed till the time the dispute is
resolved according to Pakistani laws.

The bank guarantee extended by a consortium of seven Turkish banks
was invoked after the National Highway Authority "expelled" the
Turkish contractor Bayinder for its failure to complete two
sections of motorway on schedule.

According to the sources, Member Finance, NHA travelled to Turkey
for the purpose. The request for invocation of the bank guarantee
was not immediately accepted by the Turkish banks as the
contractor, Bayinder, has taken the position that the bank
guarantee could not be invoked till the time the dispute was
finally resolved through arbitration.

The contractor was expelled from the site under clause 69.1 of the
contract, according to which the work would be completed at the
risk and cost of the contractor.

In case the project was completed with less cost, the contractor
would be entitled to claim the savings and in case it was completed
with more cost it would be liable to pay the additional cost.

The NHA is of the view that it had paid Rs15 billion to the
contractor and would recover Rs6 billion which were paid to the
contractor in the form of "mobilisation advance".

The government of Pakistan had also signed a loan agreement for 100
million US dollars with Exim Bank of Turkey for the construction of
Peshawar-Islamabad motorway at the interest rate of 10 per cent
(4.5 per cent above LIBOR).

The total loan was not utilised. After the utilisation of US $54
million, the government of Pakistan cancelled the credit line.

Under the original contract signed for the construction of
Islamabad-Peshawar motorway, the contractor was required to arrange
foreign loan worth US $322 million. The loan obtained from Exim
Bank of Turkey was to be paid within a period of three years.
Unlike the loan agreements signed for the construction of
Islamabad-Lahore section of motorway, this loan agreement had no
grace period.

In October 1999, the contractor communicated to the NHA that due to
poor credit rating of Pakistan after its going nuclear, he was
unable to arrange the balance foreign currency.

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20010715
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NBP's 10pc shares offloading plan okayed
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Staff Reporter

ISLAMABAD, July 14: The Privatization Commission Board (PCB)
decided to offer up to 10 per cent government shares in National
Bank of Pakistan (NBP) to the general public through stock market
at Rs10 par value.

Secretary Privatization Commission Zafar Ali Khan told Dawn that
earlier it was planned to off-load 10 per cent shares through
underwriting at a price higher than the face value.

He said that it was, however, felt that maximum benefit should be
given to the general public to popularize the privatization program
among the masses. Now, 37 million shares of National Bank at Rs10
per share par value would be given to the common investors through
subscription.

The meeting was told that 11 expressions of interest (EOIs) had
been received for the privatization of PTCL, another nine for
National Power Construction Company (NPCC), ten for the meter
manufacturing unit of SSGC and seven for UBL though its last date
was July 23. In all cases, EOIs were received from both
international and national investor groups.

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20010718
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PIA seeks Rs6bn short-term loan
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KARACHI, July 17: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), suffering
severe financial woes, said it was negotiating with a consortium of
state-run banks for a bridging loan of Rs6 billion ($9.36 million).

"We are negotiating for a six billion rupee short-term commercial
loan with a consortium of state-run banks and hopefully the loan
will be finalized in the next week," a PIA spokesman told Reuters.

A senior PIA official, who asked not to be identified, said the new
loan would be for emergency financing. "The loan of six billion
rupees will be a bridge financing before the airline gets the
approved amount of Rs20 billion from the government," he said.-
Reuters

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20010721
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Renewed selling forces index to shed 23.22 points
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Staff Reporter

KARACHI, July 20: The KSE 100-share index fell by about two per
cent or 23.22 points at 1,260.59.

The KSE 100-share index breached the resistance level of 1,270.00
points sending signals that bears are now in the full control of
the market and could push it further lower. The index finally ended
at 1,260.59 as compared to 1,283.81, showing a loss of another
23.22 points or about 2 per cent.

The market decline was led by the textile sector, where leading
shares fell in unison under the lead of Amin Spinning, Fazal
Textiles, Dawood Cotton, Burewala Textiles, and Ishaq Textiles,
falling by Rs.1.90 to 5.90.

They were followed by some MNCs, notably Lever Brothers, BOC
Pakistan, General Tyre, Alico and some others, which finished with
fresh losses ranging from Rs.1.40 to 2.75.

Pakistan Oilfields, Wah Noble Chemicals, EFU Life, Universal
Insurance and Sindh Abadgar's Sugar were among the other leading
losers.

Arif Habib Securities, Mehran Sugar, Berger Paints, Colgate
Pakistan and Bolan Casting managed to close one rupee to Rs.2.25
higher on stray support.

Trading volume rose to 72m shares from the previous 31m shares
reflecting larger selling as losers maintained a strong lead over
the gainers at 146 to 40, with 49 holding on to the last level, out
of 236 actives.

PTCL again topped the list of most actives, off 50 paisa at
Rs.15.70 on 29m shares, followed by Hub Power, easy 25 paisa at
Rs.16.90 on 14m shares, PSO, down 95 paisa at Rs.125.50, on 9m
shares, ICI Pakistan, lower 35 paisa at Rs.8.15 on 5m shares and
MCB, unchanged at Rs.22.70 on 2m shares.

Other actives were led by Adamjee Insurance, unchanged on 1.529m
shares FFC-Jordan Fertiliser, off 30 paisa on 1.1.528m shares,
Fauji Fertilizer, easy 25 paisa on 1.310m shares,Engro Chemical,
off 45 paisa on 1.254m shares and Dewan Salman, off 50 paisa on
1.246m shares.

DEFAULTER COMPANIES: Mixed trend was seen on this counter. While
Colony Textiles fell by 15 paisa at Rs.8.35 on 1,000 shares, Gammon
Pakistan was traded higher by 25 paisa at Rs.11.00 also on 1,000
shares.

FORWARD COUNTER: Leading shares also followed the lead of the ready
section and generally fell with major losers being PSO, PTCL and
Hub Power and some other.

Back to the top
EDITORIALS & FEATURES
20010720
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What more could we have asked for?
-------------------------------------------------------------------
By Ayaz Amir

We seem to have got it wrong both ways. Before Agra, especially in
the build-up to it, we hitched our expectations to the stars thus
inducing a state of excitement breathlessly awaiting fulfilment.
After Agra everyone concerned seems to be protesting too much in
trying to explain why the summit was not a failure. Both approaches
are misplaced.

This was an encounter like no other in Indo-Pak summitry and for a
change Pakistan was not responding to Indian moves. Rather, from
the moment Musharraf took the salute from his generals in Lahore
and got on his plane for New Delhi, the centre of attention, the
focus of what quickly became saturation media coverage, was
Pakistan and its military president.

Because private TV channels in India do their own thing and are not
tied to the apron strings of the ministry of information as is the
case in Pakistan, and because real news was hard to come by, each
network competed with the other to analyse (literally) every step
Musharraf and his Begum took, every gesture they made. It made for
awfully tedious television at times but at least Pakistan or its
president could not complain of lack of attention.

>From a country which not long ago was refusing to have any truck
with Musharraf and would not take his name without mentioning
Kargil in dark undertones, and which could not mention Pakistan
without throwing in the phrase "cross-border terrorism", what more
could we have asked for?

Retaining perspective is not amongst the leading Pakistani virtues.
Thanks in no small measure to Musharraf's endless interviews and
briefings, we were needlessly euphoric before the event as if,
going to a Yalta or a Potsdam, he was about to redraw the
subcontinent's lines. Thanks in large part to the zero credibility
of Pakistani official sources, first and foremost Pakistan
Television, and to the communication skills of Foreign Minister
Abdul Sattar-- a great negotiator behind closed doors but a
champion of wooden exposition outside-- the impression that has
spread is of a limp outcome. Or at least of something far below
Pakistan's expectations. To take such a view is to see things
through the wrong end of the telescope.

Forget the missing declaration or joint statement. Another barren
piece of paper stuck with empty cliches would not have lit the
skies above the Himalayas. But it would have looked odd against the
backdrop of the pre-summit hype and back home would have been a
tough act to explain. Musharraf has been spared the predicament of
defending another Tashkent. From his point of view, and no doubt
Pakistan's, far better not to have a joint declaration than to
bring back a weak one.

The glumness should therefore lighten. The gods were favourable to
us in Agra and it was Pakistan which basked in the limelight. Never
in recent times was the word Kashmir mentioned as much on
television or in newspapers in India as during the summit. The
joint declaration may have foundered on the need for a mutually
acceptable compromise. But for the army of journalists who had
gathered in Agra there was little doubt as to what the sticking
point--call it core issue or whatever-- had been. How does this not
redound to Pakistan's advantage?

Musharraf himself, let's not deny him the credit, was the star
attraction of the summit. He obviously got on well with Mr
Vajpayee, a circumstance behind the personal chemistry that by all
accounts the two leaders developed. He left no one in any doubt
that Kashmir topped the Pakistani agenda. And in his breakfast
meeting with Indian newspaper editors, by general consent he came
across as impressive.

This event, recorded only by PTV, was not meant for immediate
telecast. But Prannoy Roy of New Delhi Television (the organization
which does news programming for Star News), sensing the
opportunity, persuaded Pakistani officials to lend him the only
copy of the recording. The result was a media coup for Star News
and something which dominated the Agra skyline for the rest of the
day.

Liking not a bit of this, the Indian side later came out with heavy
hints that when Musharraf started speaking through the media that
was the time the Indian government decided to dig in its heels and
give him nothing with which to return to Pakistan. But this was
disinformation. The talks came to a dead-end for other reasons and
not because of Musharraf's straight talking.

How were the talks scuppered? Quite simply because Vajpayee himself
and his cabinet hard-liners (led of course by Mr Advani) were
operating on different wavelengths. The hard-liners wanted to give
nothing on Kashmir and even though Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh
twice agreed on the Kashmir clauses of the draft joint declaration,
on both occasions he, and his prime minister, were vetoed by the
hawks. Which, as it takes little imagination to see, is not the
best way of conducting any kind of negotiations. Where in the world
during high-level negotiations are the principals subject to
constant cross-checking and blocking by more influential figures in
the wings? But that's what happened at Agra.

This circumstance alone testifies to one of the inherent flaws in
this summit. While Musharraf was master of his show, and in a
position to call the shots, Vajpayee, for all his pre-eminence as a
leader, found his hands tied by his BJP hard-liners. On screen many
Indian presenters kept asking the question: can Musharraf be
trusted? In the end, it was the Indian government, especially its
Advani hard-liners, which could not be trusted to sustain the
momentum generated by this visit.

When the crunch came Vajpayee's poetic vision was helpless before
the cold-eyed narrowism of his hard-line colleagues. If he had his
eyes on history, Advani probably had his on the provincial
elections which are to come in Uttar Pradesh. That's how Agra
crumbled.

Pakistan need shed no tears at this outcome. For the first time
since Kargil the burden of intransigence and provocation shifts
clearly to Indian shoulders.

During the summit's final hours Pakistani newsmen in mobile contact
with members of the Pakistan delegation sensed a growing feeling of
anger and frustration at India's delaying tactics. Twice, it was
said, Jaswant Singh had gone back on his own draft. As rumour flew
thick and fast, what had already been an extraordinary summit
showed every sign of turning into a screen thriller. To add to the
sense of drama came word at this point that General Musharraf
wanted to address Pakistani journalists but was being prevented
from doing so by the Indian side. The air quickly filled with a
hint of raw patriotism but the tension subsided with the news that
Musharraf had left for Agra airport.

Was the Pakistani side expecting too much? If so, we were wrong
because we were not negotiating from strength. What leverage did we
have? Why should India then have obliged us by placing Kashmir at
the top of the table? Already India seems to be realizing the
mistake it made at Agra by saying that future talks will be
conducted in the light of the Simla Agreement and the Lahore
Declaration--"the cornerstones," as has explicitly been stated, of
"India-Pakistan relations". For a brief moment at Agra the two
sides seemed to be groping for something that went slightly beyond
the sterile clauses of the past. But the moment proved too short
and the effort was abortive.

The two sides have promised to keep on trying and, wisely, have
refrained from apportioning blame. Even so, the impression is hard
to shed that this was Vajpayee's last hurrah on Kashmir. While the
sun went down on Agra there was a glimmer of hope that something
slightly off the beaten track might emerge to break the impasse on
Kashmir. But the hope died as it became clear that there was not
enough of a commitment on the Indian side to take that small step
forward which the mood and the occasion demanded.

But why despair? Life goes on and while Musharraf has brought no
text back from Agra whose clauses can be cited, he has helped
create a process which both countries have an interest in keeping
alive. And if this process does not touch Kashmir, let the onus of
this be on India's head. If history, the name we give to collective
folly, has to play out its course in that unhappy land, so be it.
At least from now on the blame directed at us should be less
shrill.

Two questions in the end. Should this summit have taken place in
Agra? Most certainly, yes. Dry enough as India-Pakistan relations
are, they needed some romance brought into them. What is more, in
Delhi or any other prosaic setting the talks would have come to a
dead-end sooner than in Agra.

Should this have been the media event that it became? Again, yes.
The TV coverage was repetitive and mostly unenlightening but to
tens of millions of viewers across the subcontinent it provided a
glimpse, for the first time, of something utterly new: the promise
of peace between two countries which have hitherto excelled at
bitterness and conflict. For this alone the Agra summit was worth
the effort that went into it.

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20010715
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A job to do - beyond 2002
-------------------------------------------------------------------
By Kunwar Idris

When soon after being sworn in as president, General Musharraf said
he had "a role to play and a job to do", he was obviously looking
beyond October 2002. To his foes it was hubris and to his friends
humility, but the real message conveyed to all was that in the 21
months that had gone by he had moved up from the head of a ruling
junta to the leader of a nation.

The speculation on how it would be managed further is unnecessary.
No court ruling or election has ever dislodged a man in power, only
the people in the streets do but that takes some years.

His methods in achieving this transformation looked simple and
indifferent but were, in fact, subtle and effective. Their
essential elements were to drive the foes to despair and keep the
foe's foes, and thus your friends, on tenterhooks; keep bureaucracy
under close surveillance and trust only those in its ranks whom you
know; give all the key jobs to the men who are loyal and honest
too; stay out of sleaze which should not be difficult because there
is no money to go around for big contracts and procurements;
whether it is his own office, law and order, important utilities or
services, sports or reforms, the prime positions must be held by
army men.

Further, use carrot and stick alternately in dealing with the
pressure groups, vested interests and schools of thought. Thus,
just as the liberals thought their time had come, Gen. Musharraf
started retreating to the glee of the orthodox. But once he caught
the overweening clergy on the wrong foot, he admonished them with
stunning effect. He often criticized the madrassahs for militancy
yet acknowledged their contribution in imparting free education,
howsoever parochial, to a million indigent youths who otherwise
would have turned into illiterate vagabonds.

He gave in on reforming the law of blasphemy and on separate
electorates knowing that the enraged clerics cold harm his interest
but not the persecuted religious minorities.

He has left the press free as no other government did but ignores
whatever it has to say as no other government did. Getting
entangled with the press and its hacks, he seems to have discovered
in the very beginning, does not pay. A news story is read and
relished but not the official hand-out contradicting it. The power
of propaganda lies in the radio and television and that control he
has not let go though the expression of views now on them is less
jarring to independent minds and, on occasions, even less
flattering to the government.

All that has helped in keeping a hold on the levers of power. What
General Musharraf is now seeking is to lay the foundations of his
career in national politics on accountability, district
governments, an expanded autonomous police force, and the
resolution of the Kashmir dispute. The scheme is ambitious and has
its pitfalls.

A pall of doubt and partiality already hangs over accountability.
Some politicians and civil servants have been subjected to the
rigours of its process while many others more culpable, at least in
public perception, were exempted only to emerge as "like-minded"
aspirants for power. The people find it difficult to believe that
the leading lights of the Nawaz Muslim League's dissenting group
are as innocent as driven snow, and the wealth was gathered and
power abused only by those who have stuck to Nawaz or Benazir.

A probe and trial process which keeps the former ministers, Syed
Ghaus Ali Shah and Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, in detention from the
first day of the coup without a charge and asks not a question from
their more ostentatious colleagues Ijazul Haq and Chaudhry Shujaat
must create an impression that the determining factor is not the
fault but where the loyalty lies. All for, in any case, were the
power brokers, even the technocrat, Syed Mushahid Husain, was
incarcerated, mercifully at home, for 16 or so months without a
charge and released without an expression of apologies.

Again, whatever the alleged enormity of Asif Ali Zardari's crime or
assets, any procedure which is unable to establish his guilt after
five years in prison must be viewed as faulty, harsh and partial.

When instituted, accountability was generally welcomed, for mal-
administration had never been punished before. The impact it made
is fast diminishing. Now that new political structures and
alliances are being forged and General Musharraf also holds a
political office now, accountability should be made a continuing
part of the country's judicial system. The moment for the law to
prevail and the special tribunals to go has arrived.

When General Ayub took over power, he too like General Musharraf,
felt that the people must participate in economic development and
resolution of disputes at the grassroots. He chose the
commissioners and deputy commissioners and elected councils to
launch his experiment. Shahid Javed Burki who was then the
government's inspector for rural development now confirms (Dawn
July 10) that it was a success. Being the political agent in a
backward tribal area at that time, I should add it was a big
success. It was the very first time that the people themselves
selected and built the projects they needed. The authority of the
deputy commissioner helped in expeditious execution. I should also
add that the dispute conciliation machinery failed because the
contending parties invariably wanted the officials or courts to
adjudicate. They trusted the elected representatives with
development but not in determining their civil rights or criminal
liability.

Unlike Ayub, General Musharraf has chosen to entrust the economic
development, and indeed the entire administration at the district
level, to the elected representatives and a powerful police,
banishing the deputy commissioner.

Forty years intervene between Ayub's conservatism and Musharraf's
radicalism. Ayub's scheme failed despite its economic success
because a political role was thrust on the councillors (as
electoral college for the president). The nazims and councils in
the present regime's scheme are starting as political entities.
Politics thus is bound to overwhelm economics and civil society
leaving the police to rule the roost. It is fraught with risk, for
power alone does not bring authority and the responsibility that
must accompany it.

The conflict in Kashmir was the cause of Gen Musharraf's ascent to
power. The resolution of that conflict might entrench him in power
for a long time to come. India and Pakistan both have however
queered the pitch already - India by declaring the Hurriyat
irrelevant to the summit talks and Pakistan by inviting its members
to a tea party. Pakistan persistently asked for talks without any
condition whatsoever. Why it insisted on calling the Hurriyat to
tea when it showed no keenness to come defies comprehension.

Perhaps, for a while, Musharraf and his advisers should leave the
"grassroots" to attend to the problems at the top which hamper
Pakistan's stability and economic development. If he is able to
settle the Kashmir dispute with India he would need no district
governments to bolster his authority.


SPORTS
20010715
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Sohail defies Australians
-------------------------------------------------------------------
TAUNTON, July 14: Australian swing bowler Damien Fleming struck
three early blows before Somerset recovered to reach 122-4 at tea
on the second day of their tour match.

After Australia declared at its overnight score of 348-3 in the
pursuit of a quick victory, and heavy rain washed away the entire
first session, Fleming pressed his claim for a Lord's Test berth
with a fine display of controlled out-swing bowling.

Opener Piran Holloway fell first ball, nudging a gentle catch to
short leg before acting captain Michael Burns scooped the ball to
mid-off on nine and Peter Bowler played on for two.

But Pakistan guest player Aamir Sohail (49 not out), playing his
first match in a year, and Matthew Wood (39) readied the ship with
a gritty stand of 78 before the Somerset man fell to a jumping
Colin Miller off-break.

Demonstrating the class that brought him 2,823 runs in 47 Tests for
Pakistan, Sohail strolled to the verge of his half-century in 140
minutes.-Reuters

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20010717
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Pakistani's for world meet
-------------------------------------------------------------------
ISLAMABAD, July 16: Two Pakistanis left for Japan to compete in the
world swimming championship to be held in the city of Fukuka.

Pakistan Swimming Federation (PSF) had selected Mumtaz Ahmed and
Zulfiqar Ali Sr to represent the country in the world championship.

Mumtaz will take part in the 200 and 400 metres freestyle while
Zulfiqar will take to the pool in the 100 and 200 metres butterfly
and 200 metres individual medley, it was officially learnt.

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